Ķemeri National Park receives certificate from European Charter for Sustainable Tourism

Kemeri National Park/youtube.com.

As proof of having a responsible approach for nature preservation and motivation to continue reasonable planning of future development, Ķemeri National Park was provided a certificate of approval from European Charter for Sustainable Tourism.

In accordance with conclusion from international experts, European Charter for Sustainable Tourism is issued by the largest European nature territories organization Europarc. On Thursday, 1 February, Latvian Environment Protection and Regional Development Minister Kaspars Gerhards handed the certificate to Nature Protection Office’s Director General Juris Jātnieks.

«Last year, the most popular location in the national park – Great Kemeri Bog Boardwalk – reached an unprecedented number of visitors. While in 2016 it was visited by approximately 50,000 tourists, the number of visitors exceeded 100,000 last year. With a growing number of visitors, the possibility of nature’s depletion increases. This means compliance with principles detailed in the charter becomes all the more important, especially when planning the influx of visitors, developing education and ensuring proper infrastructure,» as noted by Nature Protection Office.

Since 2010, Ķemeri National Park regularly organizes forums to meet with local businessmen, tourism service providers, municipal representatives, NGOs and other sides. Last year’s forum resulted in the development of a tourism strategy and action plan for 2017-2021.